Engineering Student Wins Round One in the 2013 Mouser 500 Engineering Challenge

August 8, 2013 – Mouser Electronics, Inc., a leading engineering resource and global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components, is pleased to announce that Nick Winston, a college student and hobbyist from Franklin, Tennessee, is the grand prize winner in round one of the   2013 Mouser 500 Engineering Challenge.

For the second consecutive year, Mouser is challenging car racing fans and design engineers throughout the United States to help the Mouser/KV Racing Technology Team find innovative solutions to racing-related engineering problems.

“I am excited that my design entry got the judges attention; considering myself an amateur engineer, it's wonderful that professionals saw potential in my work,” says Nick Winston, an electrical engineering student at the University Of Tennessee Knoxville. Winston's innovative design featured a small camera that is easily activated and mounted to read the racecar's fuel level. Winston learned ingenuity and do-it-yourself skills in part as a Boy Scout, earning his Eagle Scout certification from BSA at age 18.

Participants in this 1^st challenge were asked to develop a Pit Stop Camera/Fuel Readout system. The idea was for a compact and easily installed camera mounted to the top of the fuel rig that can be activated via a connection to the timing stand, along with a display to read the fuel tank level. Entries were judged by the KV Racing Technology team and Winston received an iPad Mini for his winning design.

The second challenge, which is open through September 5, calls for the creation of a Load Cell Test and Recalibration Rig. The idea is for a device that measures and easily controls the amount of load in pounds being transferred from the tires into the chassis of a race car.

Mouser has seen a significant increase in entries compared to last season as engineers race online to submit their designs. Participants are asked to develop an innovative solution, describe it in paragraph form and submit it for consideration through the Mouser 500 Engineering Challenge website at http://www.mouser.com/500challenge_2013/.  The website also has more information about the challenge requirements, official rules, and prizes. The top five solutions to each challenge are reviewed by Mouser and engineers from the KV Racing Technology Team. The two winners (one per challenge) each receive one iPad Mini and an official Mouser racing photo. 

As an official partner of the 2013 KV Racing Technology #11 IZOD IndyCar, Mouser is committed to advancing technology on and off the racetrack. The KV team won the famed Indianapolis 500 with Tony Kanaan in the driver's seat. The 500 Mouser Engineering Challenge will help the racing team solve a pair of racing technology problems that ultimately will advance the science behind the extreme sport of IndyCar racing.

Mouser first sponsored IndyCar in 2011 as an innovative way to communicate its performance-driven business model and promote the newest technologies and how they affect the high-tech world of IndyCar racing. Since every advanced, sophisticated component that goes into an IndyCar is all about precision and gaining a performance edge out on the track, IndyCar provides the perfect vehicle to build top-of-mind awareness for Mouser and its industry-leading manufacturers. Joining Mouser as co-sponsors this year are: TTI, Sager, Amphenol, BIVAR, ebm-papst, Fluke, Hammond Manufacturing, Harwin, LEMO, Molex, Murata, NKK Switches, Ohmite, and Phoenix Contact.

For the latest updates on Mouser's IndyCar news and Tony Kanaan,
visit http://www.mouser.com/indy-racing/.

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About Mouser
Mouser Electronics, a subsidiary of TTI, Inc., is part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. Mouser is an award-winning authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers and buyers. Mouser.com features more than 4 million products online from more than 500 manufacturers. Mouser publishes multiple catalogs per year providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to over 400,000 customers in 170 countries from its 492,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit www.mouser.com.

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